The excitement for fans of science fiction and in particular the DUNE novels of Frank Herbert is astronomical at present. A brand new version of his seminal work DUNE is about to come out and the word is that it’s amazing. Written in 1965 and adored by fans a film was attempted first by director Alejandro Jodorowsky in the 70s but that fell apart. It wasn’t until 1984 when director David Lynch brought the movie to life. The film was considered a box office disappointment and fans of the novels were disappointed. But living up to the expectations of fans who loved a massive novel and its own series of sequels was never something anyone would expect to be achieved.
The movie DUNE itself was amazing for its time. It featured some of the most astounding effects, a number of great performances by a cast that was huge and kept as much to the story as a movie just over 2 hours could. The book was a massive 420 pages long. All of that could in no way be captured in one film. That might explain why the new one is being done as two. But this film was one that captured fans and led to it becoming a much larger hit on video and disc long after it finished in theaters.
If you’ve never seen the film the content alone will keep you busy trying to keep up. It takes place in a galaxy far far away…no not that one…another one where there is much political play taking place. The main players involve the Emperor (Jose Ferrer) trying to retain power, the planet Arrakis also known as Dune where spice is harvested, the members of House Harkonnen who currently control the spice mines and House Atreides who are about to be placed in charge of Arrakis. The Emperor has shifted control of Arrakis to Atreides knowing this will result in a war with House Harkonnen and eliminate them from possibly taking control from him.
Concern about this comes from two groups. The first is the Space Guild, a species that has morphed over time and are able to fold time making space travel take place in seconds rather than years. They’ve changed after their use of spice gave them this ability. The other is the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood with powers of their own involving themselves in intergalactic affairs. One of their own, Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis), is the concubine of Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), the head of House Atreides. Against the instructions of her order she gave birth to a son, a son who may become the savior of the Universe.
Now grown Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) has spent his life training and is now confronted by the Benne Gesserit just as House Atreides is set to move to Arrakis. He passes their tests as well as those put before him by his instructors Gurney Halleck (Patrick Stewart), Dr. Yueh (Dean Stockwell) and Thufir Hawat (Freddie Jones). All will play a part in what is to come.
Arriving on Arrakis, Duke Leto attempts to forge a pact with the Fremen, people native to Arrakis who harvest the spice found there from the giant worms that crawl beneath the sand. Before the alliance can be put in place, House Harkonnen attacks under the watchful eye of Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) along with his nephews Rabban (Paul Smith) and Feyd-Rautha (Sting). Paul and Jessica survive the attack and are aided by the Fremen. What they learn and experience among them will change the course of history forever.
The amount of story packed into this one film is amazing. Don’t worry, you’ll eventually get to know the names of all the characters and their relationships to one another as you go. Suffice to say the film is filled with action and a tale that spans the galaxy. The visuals of the film are extraordinary even by standards now in play in films. But the film doesn’t rely on just its visuals to get the point across.
It is the acting ability of all involved that delivers this film to the standard that needs put in place for films like this. Couple that with the amount of story being conveyed, the subtle nods to ecology, overpopulation and political maneuverings and you have one heck of a tale to tell. This film does that in a most entertaining way. If you’re a fan of the book set it aside and enjoy the film for what it is. If you’ve never read the book, odds are you’ll want to after watching this.
Arrow Video is releasing the movie on blu-ray and 4kHD. The picture quality is par none for the film. In addition to that Arrow has packed this product with more items than can be found on most grocery stores these days. To being with they’re offering the movie for the first time ever in a 4k scan from the original camera negative giving you the best quality image ever. Included in the extras are a brand new audio commentary track by film historian Paul M. Sammon, a brand new audio commentary track by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast, “Impressions of DUNE” a 2003 documentary on the making of the film, “Designing DUNE” a 2005 featurette looking at the work of production designer Anthony Masters, “DUNE FX” a 2005 featurette about the special effects of the film, “DUNE Models & Miniatures” a 2005 featurette on the model effects in the film, “DUNE Costumes” a 2005 featurette focusing on the costume designs seen in the film, eleven deleted scenes from the film with an introduction by producer Raffaella de Laurentiis, “Destination DUNE” a 1983 featurette originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events, theatrical trailers and TV spots, extensive image galleries and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Daniel Taylor.
If you love this movie then you need to pick this edition of the film up. Arrow has once more proven why they are the go to source for films like this being saved. Yes you might own a copy already from years ago but it won’t look near as perfect as this.
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